Road Bike Racing - $1.5K Crit Rocket

Soo...say I had $750 and a %50 team discount at the LBS. What would you build for crit racing, wheels not included? I'll be a four all season, possibly the rest of my life.

cannondale caadwhatever.

cannondale caadwhatever.

+1.

cannondale caadwhatever.
+3

-bullseye

CAAD whaever

or

Cervelo Soloist.

Soo...say I had $750 and a %50 team discount at the LBS. What would you build for crit racing, wheels not included? I'll be a four all season, possibly the rest of my life.

what frames does your lbs deal/include in this discount offer?

CAAAAAAAAAD (all the extra a's are for AWESOME!) 9


my "cheap" CAAD 7 just got cleaned up and is patiently awaiting the first races of the season...where as the trek 5900, ($4000 retail... which i got it in a trade) is now my training bike. The CF trek is wussy compared to the CAAD-beast-weapon-destroyer!!!


all hail CAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDDD!!!!

+whatever to the CAADwhatever suggestion.

CAAD9...rival shifters, RD, and brakes. Ultegra crank and FD.

Soo...say I had $750 and a %50 team discount at the LBS. What would you build for crit racing, wheels not included? I'll be a four all season, possibly the rest of my life.
What team do you race for that gets you 50%? :eek:

Wow - a lot of Beercandale lovers on this forum. Nothing wrong with them, but there is also nothing wrong with Felt, Giant, Fuji or a bunch of other brands that make a great crit bike for a good price (especially at 1/2 off).

Wow - a lot of Beercandale lovers on this forum. Nothing wrong with them, but there is also nothing wrong with Felt, Giant, Fuji or a bunch of other brands that make a great crit bike for a good price (especially at 1/2 off).

Nobody says there's anything wrong with those brands - but when it comes to a stiff, durable bike that handles criterium racing well, not much beats the CAAD9.

Wow - a lot of Beercandale lovers on this forum.

hate to break it to you, but it's not 1991 anymore. time to wake up and smell the 00's.


Nothing wrong with them,

correct.


but there is also nothing wrong with Felt, Giant, Fuji or a bunch of other brands that make a great crit bike for a good price (especially at 1/2 off).

i know.

maybe you missed it, the OP asked about a crit bike.

What about a road race bike?

What about a road race bike?

CAAD9.

My vote would be the Cervelo Soloist...

or a Caad9 something...

right now i am racing on a CF bike :(

crackandfail

I'm back on the Cdale bandwagon after being off of it for 10+ years.

My last Cannondale (2.7, the most crack prone Cannondale I know of) worked fine until I finished it off crashing it very hard four times in four races in about five weeks (all where I stacked it into guys already crashing, although I'm sure no one believes me). It was bent bad enough that I couldn't ride no handed by the fourth crash and I leaned over at the start of the race and told my teammate to stay away from me on the right turns (2 rights, 6 lefts on the course). His wide eyed shocked look told me not to mention it to anyone else. I regrettably tossed the frame as soon as I got a replacement. It never cracked but it had a LOT of dents, including one monster that spanned most of the top tube.

I have my 3.0 crit frame and my "5.0" original frame in my basement, both are still in reasonable shape. The S Works M2 frame I have is cracked (don't remember if I crashed it but I don't think I did), and I cracked the first Giant Team TCR I owned (never crashed it). Cannondales have treated me 3/3 (I broke dropouts off of a few prior to those). Specialized 0/1 (albeit over 3 or 4 years) and Giant 2/3 (over 8 years or so).

For most US racing, i.e. under 80 miles long, it's hard to beat the cost/performance of a Cannondale, esp one of their "older" versions (CAAD 9 or lower). This is considering no wheels as per the original poster's question. Handles well, climbs super well, is ubiquitous (i.e. you can get them anywhere), and for 10+ years they've designed by guys who race around the US, although mostly in New England (Fiordifrutta cycling team contains some of Cannondale's top engineer type folk). As a disclaimer the first iteration of the bike was designed by engineers that didn't ride that much, hence the overbuilt execution of the first bike they produced. But now the guys are top level amateur racers, train a lot of miles, and they put out a good product.

I don't work for Cannondale, never have, probably never will.

cdr

For crit racing - get a NOS S-Works E5.

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i mean caad9 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!One!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!111!!!!!!!!!!!!!eleven!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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+1

You may be getting involved in a few crashes doing a lot of Crits, whether you start the crash sequence or not. The Motobecane SL (or whatever the "high end" offer is out there with traditional geometries) are a great price point - and if you crash it, fine. If you crash it beyond ability to ride the frame again, take the parts off and use them for the next frame.

Don't be racing Cat 4/5 on an expensive rig. Get the most for your money now - race on the high-end later on when you're in a field with less crashing.

your local catV race:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/71/198320285_a9023248d0_o.jpg

What team do you race for that gets you 50%? :eek:

Presumably the 'in the back room fixing flat tyres on customers' cruisers' team?

The deepest discount this year is on Scott. Unfortunately the Ultegra CR1 is out of my price range even though it is a fantastic deal, and the aluminum Ultegra Speedster is a pig at almost 20 lbs. So the quest continues. I will probably start the season as I have previously on my 04 Specialized Roubaix Comp. Its what I would ride in a RR anyway. Am waiting to see if they can get me a similar discount on a Cadd9-5. But it is a 105 bike and not sure if I could tolerate that. I will ride some bikes in between deluges this weekend.

But what team do you race for? I need to consider options for next year. :D

For crit racing - get a NOS S-Works E5.

You ain't kiddin. Specialized rep talked me into it through my LBS. Originally MSRP'd for ~$2800. I kept talking him down to 1k. This thing is a crit machine. It is also a climbing monster.

I have no idea why they put any carbon in this bike...it's harsh and stiff just like a full aluminum.

Not very comfy on the long haul at all. I have a friend who won't ride his CAAD# over 75 miles for the same reason.

http://www.specialized.com/OA_MEDIA/2006/bikes/06SWorksTarmacE5Frameset_d.jpg

do most of you guys have a bike specifically for crit racing?

do most of you guys have a bike specifically for crit racing?
+1 My crit bike is also my RR bike, my training bike, and my commuting bike. If I start doing stage races, it will also be my TT bike with a set of aerobars attached to it.

CAAD9 for crits road racing and training. I have ridden my CAAD9 for 90+ miles multiple times with no discomfort.

Get that $200 Mercier Draco frame on Ebay. It's built with Columbus Zonal aluminum, and looks nice. IIRC it's 1300-1400g. If not that, then go with a CAAD8 or 9.

Me? I'm thinking BMC RoadRace SL01 for myself.

http://www.rideblue.com/images/product_page_rc5.jpg

Rode a C-dale Cadd9 5 Saturday. Its a 105 bike and I have to say after riding DA for years it was pretty horrifying. The fit felt good and the frame is very firm to say the least. I am going to look into a several years older model with at least Ultegra.

A 1500 buck 'crit' frame you want for the rest of your life?

A Columbus Max custom, with a powdercoat or ceramic finish.

Tough, tough and tough.

Weight is irrelevant when it comes to crit racing.

No $1500 for a complete bike minus wheels. But that was using 50% discount. Which I have found only applies to Scott maybe Cannondale. Actual budget is $750.

Got outbid on ebay for an R1000. Somebody paid $910 for a four year old Ultegra bike with crap Bonty wheels on it.

I haven't read the rest of the replys but I have been really happy with my Cannondale R1000 as a ~1,500 crit bike. BTW, I got mine new 3 years ago for about $1,400.

:D